Something Different
by CaptainSparrow09
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Sam wants to do something different for Ainsley.


Disclaimer: I do not own anyone. Well, one person. Everyone else belongs to Aaron Sorkin.

-------------------------TWW--------------------

"Hey Ainsley."

The blonde looked up from her paperwork and saw Donna standing in the doorway.

"Hey Donna."

"You look down." she said, plopping into a chair in front of her friend's desk.

"What is the point of having a boyfriend if he doesn't even remember Valentine's Day?" Ainsley asked.

"Sam forgot?"

"He left early this morning before I got up. I called him when I got here and he said he was busy, not to bug him. Not once did he say Happy Valentine's Day. Not once did he say how much he loved me. Nothing. Didn't send me flowers, get me candy, nothing."

"Men."

"Mhmm. So what are you doing today?"

"Working." Donna mumbled. "Josh refuses to let me go out tonight. Says some 'gomer' will come and sweep me off my feet, then be gone in the morning."

"He's watching out for you. That's sweet."

-----------------------------TWW-------------------

"I can't believe I agreed to this." Toby snarled.

"Leave him alone." Josh nudged him.

"Do you see where we are? Up to our knees in snow on the White House lawn!"

"So he's... different."

"Keep digging!" Sam yelled.

"If it keeps snowing, it won't make a difference." Toby muttered, beginning to shovel again. "And the President is a crazy man. What if we dig up the lawn? I can't believe he agreed to let us do this."

"We're not digging that deep!"

"Why can't you just give her roses and candy?"

"Because that's predictable!"

"He wants to make it special." Josh said.

"Sometimes I wonder about him." Toby muttered.

----------------------------TWW---------------------

"Ginger,"

The redhead looked up and smiled at Ainsley.

"Hi. Sam's not here."

"Where is he?" Ainsley asked, glancing into the empty office.

"He's in a meeting. He'll be a while so I wouldn't suggest waiting around." Ginger said.

"When he gets done, tell him to call me."

"I will."

"Thanks Ginger."

"No problem. Happy Valentine's Day Ainsley."

"Same to you." she mumbled, leaving the bullpen.

-------------------------------TWW----------------------------

Josh leaned against his shovel, shivering slightly.

"Sam, could we possibly stop?"

"Josh," he looked up and tossed a shovel full of snow over his shoulder. "You were with me on this."

"Yes but I'm freezing and I'm beginning to wonder if you lost your mind."

"Look, I know her and she's probably very pissed at me right now. Once we finish and I get her up there, everything will be fine. But the faster you dig, the faster we can go inside."

"This is insane." Toby muttered.

"It's romantic." Charlie commented. "I mean, would you stand outside for hours shoveling snow to form a romantic message?"

"No."

"That's only cause Toby doesn't have a heart." Sam said. "But I on the other hand, love my girlfriend very much and would do such a crazy thing."

"We've noticed." the three guys said together.

----------------------------TWW----------------------

"Hey CJ."

"Ainsley, hey. What are you doing?"

"I was looking around for Sam. According to Ginger he's in a meeting. According to Ed or Larry he was in with Leo. So I went to Leo, who said he's in a meeting with the President but at that moment the President came through and the Oval Office was empty." she said. "So he's probably at some fancy restaurant with his other girlfriend."

"Oh. You know, he's probably just busy and running around."

"He did leave early this morning."

"Yeah. So how's your day been?"

"Sucky."

"I'm sure it'll get better." CJ said as Sam walked into her office.

"Where have you been?" Ainsley asked. Sam glanced down at his soaked pants and back at his girlfriend.

"Josh's car broke down and we were pushing it through the snow." he lied.

"For five hours?"

"It's a big car."

"Why are you wet?"

"We were pushing it through the snow."

"You weren't at some restaurant with a secret girlfriend?" Ainsley asked, looking over Sam with a suspicious look.

"I was in a meeting down in the basement and then I helped Josh push his car through the snow." he said. "Anyway, I was just seeing if CJ had a... a pair of gloves but she doesn't. So I'll be on my way."

"Now where are you going?"

"I have a meeting up on the Hill."

"Sure."

"I do."

"Yeah."

"Ainsley,"

"I'm going back to my office. A lot of busy things to do." she said, brushing past Sam and disappearing into the hallway.

"She's upset." CJ said.

"You think?" Sam questioned. "But it'll all be worth it in the end."

"How's it coming?"

"All we have left is her name."

"Sam, you're a romantic man."

"I've heard in the past few hours." he said. "I gotta change my pants."

"Yeah, you're getting my office wet."

-----------------------TWW-------------------

"It looks like a big blob of nothing." Josh said. They had finally finished Sam's request and the four guys stared at the snow.

"I'm sure it'll look better when we're up on the roof." he said, an unsure tone in his voice.

"Yeah, getting an aerial view will probably be better." Charlie said. "Are we done?"

"Yeah. Thanks Charlie."

"I gotta go meet Zoey for dinner."

"Have fun."

"I will." the youngest staffer trudged through the snow back to the White House and disappeared around a corner.

"Tell me you have everything you need." Toby said. "Because if you don't and we spent our whole day digging snow up for nothing, I will kill you Sam and nothing will stop me."

"Don't jinx it." Sam said. "I'm gonna go change. Thanks guys."

"Yeah you better be thankful." and they headed back to the West Wing.

----------------------TWW-------------------

Sam quickly made his way down to Ainsley's office and paused in her doorway, seeing her hunched over her laptop.

"Hey babe."

"Oh so now you come down here."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around all day."

"Yeah,"

Sam walked further into the office and set a bouquet of red roses on Ainsley's desk.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"There's only about seven hours left in the day Sam and it hasn't really been happy."

"Will you come with me for a minute?"

"I'm busy."

"Ainsley,"

"Sam, you forgot about Valentine's Day and now you just expect me to come up to your office and work on something with you?" she asked.

"No. I want to show you something."

"I could care less."

"Ainsley, stop. Please, just come with me." Sam begged.

"Only a few minutes because I don't have time to spare." she said, walking out from behind her desk. Sam took her hand and led her out of the office. They walked for a couple of minutes and Ainsley became confused as Sam led her through hallways and up staircases, then finally out a door.

"I probably should've told you to bring your jacket."

"Where the hell are we?" Ainsley asked, shivering from the cold.

"The roof."

"You're not going to push me off are you?"

"No." Sam laughed. "Come on."

"What are we doing up here?"

"Come here and you'll see."

Ainsley stayed by the door, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't you trust me?" Sam asked. Ainsley sighed and walked over to where he was standing.

"Where am I supposed to be looking?" she asked. Sam pointed down and Ainsley looked. The lawn had been illuminated and Ainsley bit her lip as she stared down at the lawn. "God, I feel horrible."

Sam laughed and Ainsley turned to him, tears in her eyes. She let out a sob as he got down on one knee and stared up at her.

"Well?"

"How did you—"

"Josh, Toby, Charlie, and I have been out in the snow since six thirty. I enlisted there help to shovel the lawn."

"You spent twelve hours spelling out a proposal in the snow?"

"I wanted to do something different." Sam said. "Will you marry me?"

"This was what you were doing all day?" Ainsley whispered.

"Yeah."

"Everyone was telling me a different story as to where you were and I didn't even think to look outside."

Sam laughed again and Ainsley wiped her eyes, laughing slightly.

"You didn't answer me." he said quietly, his hand going into his pocket.

"I thought you forgot."

"No. I was just trying to do something special. That's why I left so early this morning and that's why I was ignoring you because I wanted to get this done. I knew you were pissed at me but I knew it would be worth it when I got you up here." Sam explained. "So again, will you marry me?"

He opened the small box in his hand and Ainsley felt another wave of tears hit her as she stared at the diamond ring.

"Yes."

"Really?"

Ainsley nodded and Sam slipped the ring onto her finger, then pulled her down to him.

"I love you." she mumbled before their lips connected. They sat like that until they couldn't breathe, then pulled away.

"I love you too. Happy Valentine's Day."

--------------------TWW-----------------

"And that was the best Valentine's Day I ever had." Ainsley said, leaning into Sam's arms. Sarah sighed and stared at her parents.

"Daddy, that was very romantic." she said, making Sam laugh.

"I hear that a lot." he said.

"What was your best Valentine's Day?"

"Two years after that." Sam replied.

"Why?"

"Because Mommy gave me the best gift."

"What?" Sarah asked. Sam leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"You. Now good night. Happy Birthday."

"Happy birthday sweetheart." Ainsley kissed Sarah's cheek and Sam pulled her off the bed.

"Hey! You didn't ask what mine was!" she exclaimed. Ainsley and Sam rolled their eyes at each other and then looked at their daughter.

"What was your best Valentine's Day?"

"This one."

"Why?"

"Because I finally got a puppy." Sarah grinned.

"You can thank Mommy." Sam said. "Good night."

"Night Daddy. Night Mommy."

"Night Sar." Ainsley shut the light off and followed Sam out of the room, shutting the door slightly. "Sam,"

"What baby?" he slipped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his side.

"She's getting too big."

"She's five."

"I want another baby."

"Okay," Sam lifted Ainsley into his arms and headed towards their bedroom and she laughed and shook her head. "You just said you want another baby. You changed your mind that fast?"

"I should probably rephrase that."

"Why?"

"We're having another baby."

Sam's grip on Ainsley loosened and set her down on the floor before he dropped her. She smiled and walked down the hallway.

"Hang on! You can't just leave me like that!" he exclaimed, racing after her.

"Why? It's not like I left you hanging or anything. I told you."

"But..." Sam grabbed Ainsley's arm and spun her around. "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah." she nodded, a smile on her face.

"Really?" a smile formed on Sam's face as Ainsley nodded again. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. Ainsley let out a quiet sound and snaked her arms around his neck. "I love you."

"I love you too. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"And you thought _I _forgot this year." Ainsley grinned.

"Hey, it's Sarah's birthday. We don't have an excuse to forget anymore." Sam smirked.

"That's right!" the five-year-old yelled from upstairs.

"Go to sleep!" they exclaimed together.

"I'm going, I'm going!"

"And you want another one?" Sam teased.

"We don't have a choice anymore." Ainsley said.

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

the end


End file.
